Highlanders

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2011-06-10T10:20:00.001-06:00

2009 FunHL Entry Draft - the 20/20 Hindsight Edition

2010-04-13T16:14:00.004-06:00

It is April and the FunHL season has come to a close. I ended up about 48pts out of first in the Predator Cup run and had a surprisingly close finish in both the Challenge Cup and Omnivore Award races. Still its back to back bridesmaid status for my Highlanders so its time to do some navel gazing.

I will be peeking and poking at this rehash for a bit but in essence I will try to keep the revisionist history to a minimum. I drafted well - second best Omnivore baseline - but did not out-draft the eventual winner, Brian and the Bladerunners, so it is best to see where I made mistakes and where I made some astute calls. Second year in a row in second place so I can take some solace in the fact that I'm in the hunt but I have to unlock the alchemy needed to assure perpetual victory - or at least a return to Predator Cup glory next season.

***

The puck drops tonight so it is time to do an assessment of how the draft went. Where things went right - and where they went very, very wrong. The answer to both questions won't turly be known until April but what's the fun in that.

Here is my, hopelessly biased and self-serving take on the FunHL Entry Draft, 2009. A single * indicates a matched RFA bid and a double ** indicates a successful RFA poach.

Round 1 Draft Order

Highlanders C R.Getzlaf ANA
Personal Vendetta C P.Datsyuk DET
Knights Templar LW Z.Parise NJ FP
Great Whites RW D.Alfredsson OTT
Edge D A.Markov MTL
Ramapithicines LW A.Semin WAS
Wolves D D.Phaneuf CGY FP*
Lost Boys C M.Savard BOS
Bladerunners LW D.Sedin VAN
Shadowmen C V.Lecavalier TB
Scourge D D.Boyle SJ
Severed Heads C E.Malkin PIT FP*

My Pick - Getzlaf has points and toughness and would otherwise be an FP (ask Mike). With Crosby, I've solidified my center and have addressed part of my TG issue.

Best Value Pick - I think that Bob snagging Lecavalier at #10 is insane, I understand it but suspect that a few GMs will regret letting him go by them come April.

WTF? - All the picks here are good, it is the first round, but is Semin's upside worth this injury risk?

***

R.Getzlaf struggled with some injury issues during the year and ended up with 69pts and another 19.75 as a TG. He was prorating out at 86pts, still below where I had pegged him to be, but on draft day the only other player I really considered was P.Datsyuk and his 70pts. No complaints, just could have used another 30pts from my center at the end of the season.

I thought Lecavalier going 10th was a steal for Bob and given that he too hit 70pts I guess that would make him one. Again, had him pegged for far more.

***

Round 2 Draft Order

Severed Heads RW D.Briere PHI
Scourge D S.Gonchar PIT
Shadowmen C H.Sedin VAN
Bladerunners D B.Rafalski DET
Lost Boys G Thomas BOS
Wolves D Weber NSH**
Ramapithicines RW Gaborik NYR
Edge G Nabokov SJ
Great Whites LW Vanek BUF*
Knights Templar RW Perry ANA FP*
Personal Vendetta LW B.Morrow DAL
Highlanders D S.Niedermayer ANA

My Pick - Given a wrap-around position I decided that I would try and alternate between forward and d-man. Niedermayer was NOT at the top of my list but while I feel I've given up a few points (Striet was my option) I feel more confidence in Nieds.

Best Value Pick - Lots of good ones here, to be sure, but really love how Collin was able to take Nabokov a full round after I had predicted Collin taking him.

WTF? - While Gaborik is an obvious injury risk and it is always odd to take one's top goalie based on his back-up as Richard didin taking Thomas but my eyebrows were most raised by Cam's pick of Briere at pick #13. Seems a reach to me and an odd selection

***

On a strong final week, 5pts to 1pt, Striet ends up outscoring Niedermayer by one - 49 to 48. Not disappointed with the call.

BTW D.Briere ends up with 53pts, prorated to 58. I stand by my criticism of this pick.

***

Round 3 Draft Order

Highlanders RW A.Hemsky EDM
Personal Vendetta RW S.Doan PHX
Knights Templar G M.Kiprusoff CGY
Great Whites RW B.Boyes STL
Edge RW B.Gionta MTL
Ramapithicines C O.Jokinen CGY
Wolves RW N.Antropov ATL*
Lost Boys LW M.Cammaleri MTL
Bladerunners LW P.Marleau SJ
Shadowmen C M.Ribiero DAL
Scourge C J.Carter PHI*
Severed Heads C M.Richards PHI*

My Pick - The three names were Hemsky, Doan and Boyes. Doan's toughness was tough to pass on but in the end I went with the youngest and, IMO, the one with the most upside. Unshackled from MacT's coaching should be worth 5-10 more pts - I hope.

Best Value Pick - Still lots of good options to choose from but I like Chris' match on Carter, Bob's pick of Ribiero and Cam's pick of Richards. They will all be within 5 pts of each other come April.

WTF? - I have so little confidence in the Edge's selection of the Smurf, Gionta. It is simply my personal bias, to be sure, but I much prefer the match on Havlat in the following round and might have gone elsewhere with my pick.

***

A.Hemsky's injury limited him to 22pts but prorated he was on an 82pt pace so I stand by the pick. My other choices were S.Doan (55pts with 10.25 TG pts) and B.Boyes' 42pts. Then again, they both played full seasons...

Ironically I would end up with Gionta who finished the year with 46pts but still think it was a suspect call.

J.Carter (61pts), Riberio (53pts) and M.Richards (62pts) were comprable but Bob got the worst of the three.

***

Round 4 Draft Order

Severed Heads D K.Timonen PHI
Scourge LW S.Gagne PHI
Shadowmen LW A.Kovalev OTT
Bladerunners C D.Roy BUF
Lost Boys RW D.Brown LA**
Wolves C S.Gomez MTL
Ramapithicines D M.StreitNYI
Edge RW M.Havlat MIN*
Great Whites D B.Campbell CHI
Knights Templar C A.Kopitar LA*
Personal Vendetta LW A.Frolov LA
Highlanders D T.Kaberle TOR

My Pick - Corey and Dan started to walk down my d-man list so went with a normally reliable Kaberle. Hope that last season's injury was a one-off. Obvious comparisons will be to Souray, Bouwmeester and Kronwall.

Best Value Pick - While I may have my doubts, the numbers will say that Corey's selection of Streit was the steal here. From the "well somebody has to get points here" strategy, the flirtation with 60pts only needs a slight improvement of the Islander PP to become a reality.

WTF? - Cam picking Timonen. Look, he's a solid d-man but I think he would have still been there at his next wrap-around and the list of d-men selected after will be interesting to compare with Timonen's numbers in April. Indeed, this pick may look bad long before then.

***

Well Kaberle came in at 49pts, one off the 50 I had him pegged for. Bouwmeester only managed 29 and Kronwall an injury plagued 22pts (prorated to 38) so I clearly am pleased with my call here.

As mentioned above, Streit hit 49 pts but fell short of the 60 I thought he could hit with luck but still a fine selection by Corey.

Timonen's 39pts validate, IMHO, my criticism of this pick on draft day. Better choices available and passed on by the Severed Heads.

***

Round 5 Draft Order

Highlanders LW P.Kariya STL
Personal Vendetta D S.Souray EDM
Knights Templar D J.Bouwmeester CGY
Great Whites D N.Kronwall DET
Edge LW J-P.Dumont NSH
Ramapithicines G S.Mason CLB
Wolves LW R.Whitney CAR
Lost Boys C M.Koivu MIN*
Bladerunners D R.Whitney ANA*
Shadowmen LW S.Kozlov ATL**
Scourge RW T.Selanne ANA
Severed Heads LW S.Hartnell PHI*

My Pick - Perhaps going to the well one too many times with Kariya but I thought he looked so good in STL prior to the injury that it was hard for me to pass him up at this point. It's not the years, it's the miles but if the new bionic hips hold up like he says they are - then he could prove to be a steal.

Best Value Pick - Cam matching on S.Hartnell was a no brainer given his combination of offense and offensiveness, scary part is that he is still getting better.

WTF? - Really can't say there is an obviously suspect call here, if pressed I would question whether Selanne might not have slipped a bit further.

***

Kaboom. Kariya's 43pts (prorated 47) is the first real mistake of the draft for me. One too many times to the well for sure. If nothing else, I could have waited on him and that is where I am most critical.

Still like the Hartnell match even if his pts, 44, were a little lower than expected.

Selanne's problems were not production (prorated to 73pts) but injuries which limited him to 48pts.

***

Round 6 Draft Order

Severed Heads D C.Letang PIT
Scourge D D.Wideman BOS
Shadowmen D K.Bieksa VAN
Bladerunners D L.Visnovsky EDM
Lost Boys C D.Krejci BOS
Wolves LW A.McDonald STL
Ramapithicines LW K.Huselius CLB
Edge D M.Zidlicky MIN
Great Whites LW M.Michalek OTT*
Knights Templar LW M.Lucic BOS*
Personal Vendetta D R.Suter NSH*
Highlanders D D.Keith CHI

My Pick - The last of the top-end d-men are dropping off the table fast so I get Keith - my list had Burns, Jovocop and Corvo as other options but like the high EV vs PP pt totals.

Best Value Pick - Think that Chris taking Wideman was great hear. Last year I undervalued him and really regretted it.

WTF? - Well with Wideman, Visnovsky and others still on the board Cam's selection of Chris Letang seems awfully early. I love his game and love his PP teammates. Like Cam, I think he has a great future but this isn't the prospect draft or even the rfa rounds - this was a round or two too early.

***

If Kariya was my first mistake, D.Keith was my first steal at 69pts!

In hindsight Wideman's 30pts was a disappointment but he still outscores Letang's 27pts while Visnovsky's 45pts blow both picks out of the water.

***

Round 7 Draft Order

Highlanders RW P-M.Bouchard MIN
Personal Vendetta G N.Backstrom MIN
Knights Templar LW J.Franzen DET*
Great Whites D A.Edler VAN*
Edge C D.Backes STL
Ramapithicines D B.Burns MIN
Wolves RW M.Ryder BOS
Lost Boys RW M.Hejduk COL
Bladerunners D T.Gilbert EDM*
Shadowmen D E.Jovanovski PHX
Scourge D C.Barker CHI*
Severed Heads RW M.Knuble WAS**

My Pick - The comparable for me was Horton or Bouchard. Went with the dash over the crash in the hopes that unshackled from the trap first, score second attitude may help him more than Horton.

Best Value Pick - I really like Corey's selection of Burns here.

WTF? - No obvious bad calls here but I must say that I think that N.Backstrom's life post-trap will be a lot more challengeing that before the coaching change.

***

Ok, this certainly qualifies as a big miss on my part. Can't get much worse than 0pts. The injured Horton, would have gotten me 57pts (prorated to 72) so that was the better call.

Another Wild player, Burns, at only 20pts in an injury-plagued season was another mistake her.

Was correct that N.Backstrom was not the best goaltending call.

***

Round 8 Draft Order

Severed Heads D R.Blake SJ**
Scourge LW P.Sharp CHI
Shadowmen RW N.Horton FLA
Bladerunners D A.Gologoski PIT*
Lost Boys LW D.Booth FLA
Wolves LW C.Kunitz PIT
Ramapithicines D J.Corvo CAR
Edge D S.O'Brien** VAN
Great Whites RW J.Langenbrunner NJ
Knights Templar D J-M.Liles COL
Personal Vendetta C B.Richards DALCorvo
Highlanders RW S.Sullivan NSH

My Pick - Sullivan is a much bigger injury risk than I would have liked but if he can get 65 pts, it will be a good call.

Best Value Pick - I like Chris' pick of Sharp here and Rob's pick of Kunitz.

WTF? - I think Brian should have walked away from Gologoski's bid here, if the match would have preserved his RFA status that would have been one thing but there is a lot of risk that his pts last year were boosted by Gonchar's injury and with the Pens picking up Skoula (post draft) those fears seem justified.

***

Well S.Sullivan only hit 51pts but it wasn't beacuse of injury so a mixed result on this pick.

Sharp's 66pts were a great call, Kunitz's 32pts not so much.

Goligoski's 37pts were still a little low but not as bad as I feared.

***

Round 9-10 Draft Order

Highlanders C S.Crosby PIT FP
Personal Vendetta D N.Lidstrom DET FP
Knights Templar D F.Beauchamin TOR
Great Whites C E.Staal FP
Edge LW A.Ovechkin WAS FP
Ramapithicines D Z.Chara Bos FP
Wolves C J.Pavelski SJ
Lost Boys LW I.Kovalchuk ATL FP
Bladerunners RW J.Iginla CGY FP
Shadowmen G R.Luongo VAN FP
Scourge G H.Lundqvist NYR FP
Severed Heads D F.Kuba OTT*

Severed Heads LW D.Heatley SJ FP
Scourge C J.Spezza OTT FP
Shadowmen RW M.St.Louis TB FP
Bladerunners RW M.Hossa CHI FP
Lost Boys RW R.Nash CLB FP
Wolves D C.Pronger PHI FP
Ramapithicines LW A.Tanguay TB FP
Edge C J.Thornton SJ FP
Great Whites G M.Turco DAL FP
Knights Templar D B.Coburn PHI
Personal Vendetta C H.Zetterberg DET FP
Highlanders G M.Brodeur FP

My FPs - Crosby and Brodeur are both in the top two of their position and that usually is a pretty good thing.

Best FP pair - Love my two but Collin's Ovie and Jumbo Joe combo would tempt me. Watch Thornton's numbers jump this year with Heatley at his side.

WTF? - Kuba only makes sense, IMO, because Cam already has Karlsson. Wrong reason to take anyone in the FA rounds.

***

Crosby finishes second in the scoring race with 109pts and Brodeur gets 113.25pts. No complaints at all.

Ovechkin also gets 109pts and with Thronton's 89pts the Edge have one of their best finishes in years.

Kuba's 28pts validate my questioning of this pick (to his credit he prorates out to 43pts but I still think this pick stinks).

***

Round 11 Draft Order - from here on in all picks are RFAs

Highlanders LW D.Carcillo PHI
Personal Vendetta RW A.Ponikerovsky TOR
Knights Templar C R.Kesler VAN
Great Whites D J.Oduya NJ
Edge C S.Weiss FLA
Ramapithicines D J.Spacek MTL*
Wolves D J.Wisniewski ANA
Lost Boys D P.Kubina ATL*
Bladerunners D K.Ballard FLA
Shadowmen RW A.Burrows VAN*
Scourge RW R.Clowe SJ
Severed Heads G C.Ward CAR

My Pick - Lots and lots of PIMs. Could he crack 300? He certainly is in the right organization. Update: Right NHL organization but maybe not right FunHL organization as I traded him to the Great Whites before season started (another thing to review post-season).

Best Value Pick - I like Ward here, a lot.

WTF? - Matching on Spacek? Really? I don't think I would have done that.

***

Carcillo's 22pts and 51.75 TG pts justify this pick. M.Michalek's 34pts did NOT justify the trade - good scouts, bad GM.

Carolina's horrible start and Ward's injuries limited him to 46.89pts and yet I still thought it a good call at the time.

Spacek's 21pts make for this being a bad match.

***

Round 12 Draft Order

Severed Heads D J.Pitkannen CAR
Scourge C P.Elias NJ
Shadowmen LW S.Avery NYR
Bladerunners LW S.Ott DAL
Lost Boys RW T.Ruutu CAR*
Wolves RW B.Guerin PIT
Ramapithicines D K.Quincey COL
Edge LW J.Blake TOR
Great Whites LW M.Erat NSH
Knights Templar C J.Arnott NSH
Personal Vendetta LW R.Smyth LA**
Highlanders D B.McCabe FLA

My Pick - Reserve toughness (update, following my Carcillo trade this becomes needed toughness) and reasonable pts at this point in the draft.

Best Value Pick - Chris taking Elias may prove to be a real steal, especially as an RFA.

WTF? - Have to think that Corey reached a little on Quincey.

***

McCabe cracks the 40pt mark to hit 43pts and over 20.75 TG pts. Everything I could have asked him to do he did so fine selection here.

Elias' 48pts (prorated to 68pts) is actually a little disappointing to me since I believe he is capable of more.

Even with Colorado's surprise season, Quincey's 29pts was disappointing.

***

Round 13 Draft Order

Highlanders C P.O'Sullivan EDM
Personal Vendetta RW P.Sykora MIN
Knights Templar RW C.Neil OTT
Great Whites D M.Niskanen DAL
Edge D M-E.Vlasic SJ
Ramapithicines C Lombardi PHX
Wolves D B.Seabrook CHI*
Lost Boys C T.Zajac NJ
Bladerunners RW D.Stafford BUF
Shadowmen D D.Grebeshkov EDM
Scourge R D.Clarkson NJ*
Severed Heads C D.Langkow CGY

My Pick - O'Sullivan was tearing it up in the preseason and the expectation is that he ends up on a line with Hemsky.

Best Value Pick - I really like Neil here, but wonder if Mike will be able to fit him in on a good right wing once Kane (and I believe Little) are promoted.

WTF? - Lombardi and Langkow? I'm reminded of a line from the Simpsons - "You are smarter than you look. Or... our best testing indicates." Well Lombardi and Langkow are what they are, which is ok in the NHL but they really are not going to get any better, which is bad in the FunHL. And after Phoenix picked up Robert Lang (post draft) and Calgary sent Langkow to Abbotsford, these selections look even worse.

***

O'Sullivan is an absolute waste at 34pts. Bad GM taking Oilers, bad GM.

Niel does exactly what is expected of him - 22pts and 43.75 TG pts.

Lombardi's 53pts were fine but Langkow's 37 were not.

***

Round 14 Draft Order

Severed Heads D C.Campoli OTT
Scourge D T.Enstrom ATL
Shadowmen LW V.Prospal NYR
Bladerunners D P.Mara MTL
Lost Boys G M-A.Fleury PIT**
Wolves D M.Roszival NYR
Ramapithicines LW M.Sturm BOS
Edge R C.Stillman FLA
Great Whites LW A.Kostitsyn MTL
Knights Templar D K.Johnsson MIN
Personal Vendetta D C.Ehrhoff VAN*
Highlanders G S.Varlamov WAS

My Pick - If I have to play my back-up goalie then I have some problems but if there was someone out there who might be able to surplant someone else's starter - well the hope is that Varlamov is that guy.

Best Value Pick - I slam Cam a lot here, and it's fun, but Campoli is a fantastic pick at this point in the draft. Way, way, way better than Kuba btw. See, couldn't resist. I feel bad.

WTF? - You couldn't find a lefie better than Sturm? I think you had a brain cramp or something because I can find several. How about the next one taken (Kostitsyn).

***

Varlamov never wrestled the starting job away from Theodore so never justified the pick. Still think it was a reasonable gamble, though.

Ok, stand corrected on Campoli. His 18pts were less than Kuba's.

Sturm's 37pts are worthy of criticism, however.

***

Round 15 Draft Order

Highlanders LW J.Lupul ANA
Personal Vendetta D P.Martin NJ*
Knights Templar D M.Hunwick BOS
Great Whites D W.Mitchell VAN
Edge LW R.Bourque CGY
Ramapithicines RW R.Callahan NYR
Wolves D M.Ohlund TB*
Lost Boys D S.Montador BUF
Bladerunners RW A.Cogliano EDM
Shadowmen D K.Yandle PHX*
Scourge D R.Hainsey ATL*
Severed Heads C P.Bergeron**

My Pick - Can you really go home again? That is the question with this pick. Lupul is back with the only team that was able to get the most out of him. I'm hoping that he is back on the top line and recaptures some of that old magic.

Best Value Pick - Speaking for my heart, I have a soft spot for Bergeron and see ppg potential here. Good pick Cam.

WTF? - Brain here, Bergeron has ppg potential - sure - the question is how many games does he have in him before he breaks for good. Bergeron makes a great center for Briere, sure, but it should tell you something that even Corey "Blue Cross" Milne gave Bergeron a pass. Hope I'm wrong here but Bergeron is one hit away from a retirement press conference.

***

In answer to my own question, no - you, apparently, can not go home again. At least not if you want more than Lupul's 14pts. Even prorated to 50pts J.Lupul's return to Anaheim was not noteworthy.

Patrice Bergeron's 52pts (prorated to 58) was still a worthwhile call in my opinion in spite of what Brian says. BTW, why is Brian crashing my post-mortem?

***

Round 16 Draft Order

Severed Heads LW C.Versteeg CHI
Scourge LW A.Ladd CHI
Shadowmen D F.Tyutin CLB*
Bladerunners LW R.Malone*
Lost Boys LW E.Cole CAR
Wolves D S.Salo VAN*
Ramapithicines G C.Mason STL
Edge C C.Drury NYR
Great Whites D V.Koistinen FLA
Knights Templar D M.Carle PHI*
Personal Vendetta LW T.Bertuzzi DET
Highlanders LW W.Wolski COL

My Pick - It better be a very lucrative contract year for Wolski, the word "bust" is starting to settle in.

Best Value Pick - Love the Versteeg pick here and it is underlined by Ladd going right after, IMO.

WTF? - Lest it look like I can't turn a critical eye towards myself, let's return to Wolski. Isn't this really a case of closing the barn door after the left-wing horses have all fled. Soft player, soft pick.

***

Wolski's 65pt season would constitute a win of a pick.

Versteeg's 44pts was actually a little below what I thought he would get (though still more than Ladd's 38pts).

Wolski's trade to Phoenix would underline that I wasn't the only one to think he is soft.

***

Round 17 Draft Order

Highlanders D A.Meszaros TB
Personal Vendetta D W.Redden NYR
Knights Te mplar C S.Horcoff EDM*
Great Whites G P.Rinnie NSH
Edge D A.Colliacovo STL
Ramapithicines C T.Connolly BUF*
Wolves G J-S.Giguere ANA
Lost Boys D C.Rivet BUF*
Bladerunners G R.Miller BUF*
Shadowmen D C.Schneider VAN
Scourge C Grabovski TOR
Severed Heads RW J.Cheechoo OTT

My Pick - Meszaros suffered from an injured shoulder and placement in Tampa. The shoulder is healed and, perhaps, so is Tampa. If so, he should return to flirting with 40pts.

Best Value Pick - Like Rinnie here (the other rookie of the year goalie) but will go with Colliacovo in StLouis, he could be scary good if he can stay healthy.

WTF? - Darrell. Redden. Put a fork in him.

***

If Wolski was a win, Meszaros' 17pts was a dud.

Rinne's 66pts wasn't the best goalie but better than Dan's FP Turco.

Darrell. Redden. 14pts of fork.

***

Round 18 Draft Order

Severed Heads G R.Emery PHI
Scourge RW M.Samuelsson VAN
Shadowmen D D.Morris BOS
Bladerunners C B.Laich WAS
Lost Boys D Giordano CGY
Wolves G J.Hiller ANA (promoted, from hereafter +)
Ramapithicines RW Afinogenov ATL+
Edge D T.Daley DAL
Great Whites C Bolland CHI
Knights Templar RW Moss CGY
Personal Vendetta D T.Poti WAS
Highlanders C V.Fillpulla DET

My Pick - Is Fillpulla ready for a breakout? If he is, I hope to be the one taking advantage of it.

Best Value Pick - Cam taking Ray Emery is fantastic here, if Russia straightenend him out he could be scary good behind that defense.

WTF? - Moss? Homer call.

***

Filppula's 35pts isn't that impressive but prorated to 52pts is closer to fair value.

Emery turned out to be a flop but I this think it was a great pick by Cam.

David Moss' 17pts was a wasted pick as I thought.

***

Round 19 Draft Order

Highlanders D J.Ericsson DET
Personal Vendetta RW J.Williams DET
Knights Templar RW S.Walker CAR
Great Whites D S.Eminger** ANA
Edge RW C.Kobasew BOS
Ramapithicines D J.Johnson LA+
Wolves C P.Mueller PHX+
Lost Boys D S.Hamhuis NSH
Bladerunners C R.Peverley ATL
Shadowmen G T.Vokoun FLA
Scourge D S.Robidas DAL
Severed Heads LW P.Demitra VAN

My Pick - Is this the year Ericsson makes the team and goes to town? Probably not but he looks the part, doesn't he?

Best Value Pick - I know it is off his own prospect list but you have to like Jack Johnson here.

WTF?- Peverly is going back to the AHL, should have taken White.

***

Ericsson still neads more seasoning.

Jack Johnson's 36pts suggests that his seasoning is about done.

WTF, Peverley's 55pts is more than double Todd White's 26pts. Bad call Doug, great call Brian.

***

Round 20 - 22 Draft Order

Severed Heads RW R.Kessel TOR+ / D Sbisa ANA / D Murphy NJ+
Scourge LW S.Samsonov CAR / G Anderson COL / D Foster TB
Shadowmen C S.Koivu ANA*/ D Boynton ANA / RW Okposo NYI+
Bladerunners D Gervais NYI / G Quick LA / C Backstrom WAS+
Lost Boys D R.Hamrlik MTL* / D B.Lee OTT+ / D Vishnevski DAL+
Wolves RW L.Erikkson DAL+ / LW Frolik FLA+ / C J.Toews CHI+
Ramapithicines D E.Johnson STL+ / C Brassard CLB+ / RW Pominville BUF+
Edge D Z.Michalek PHX / D Girardi NYR / G M.Smith TB
Great Whites RW J.Boll CLB / C P.Statsny COL+ / C J.Staal PIT+
Knights Templar G J.Lehtinen ATL / D A.Sekera BUF / LW B.Ryan ANA+
Personal Vendetta C T.White ATL / D M.Staal NYR+ / G J.Harding MIN+
Highlanders D M.Komisarek TOR / RW M.Svatos COL / D M.Green WAS+

My last 3 picks - Komisarek is reserve toughness (now traded to Dan). Svatos is more from the well of Wolski, soft player in a contract year. Green is a flyer but he looks to have some potential.
Best Value Pick - Backstrom is nice but of the picks that anyone could have had here, I like potential that Samsonov has to become a dressable player.

WTF? - At this point in the draft, this is unfair but fate has dealt a blow to Lee already as the Sens have sent him back down to the AHL.

There you go. See you in April with the white-out to correct my mistakes.

***

Svatos at 11pts and Komisarek's 4pts hardly adds to the franchise's value. M.Green's 76pts looks like a winner. To bad I couldn't convert that last round bonus into a Predator.

101pts in the last round is a nice little bonus there Brian and one that he was able to convert to a Predator. :-)

***

Well that's my recap of my recap. I still feel I made more correct than suspect calls and in Keith and Wolski had a couple of steals. Have to improve on this for next year, however, if I am going to finally get back into first as opposed to 2nd.

I had best brag about this while I have the chance...

2009-11-02T13:06:00.001-07:00

Highlanders' Draft Recap and Review

2009-09-30T09:07:00.013-06:00

The puck drops tonight so it is time to do an assessment of how the draft went. Where things went right - and where they went very, very wrong. The answer to both questions won't turly be known until April but what's the fun in that.

Here is my, hopelessly biased and self-serving take on the FunHL Entry Draft, 2009. A single * indicates a matched RFA bid and a double ** indicates a successful RFA poach.

Round 1 Draft Order

Highlanders C R.Getzlaf ANA
Personal Vendetta C P.Datsyuk DET
Knights Templar LW Z.Parise NJ FP
Great Whites RW D.Alfredsson OTT
Edge D A.Markov MTL
Ramapithicines LW A.Semin WAS
Wolves D D.Phaneuf CGY FP*
Lost Boys C M.Savard BOS
Bladerunners LW D.Sedin VAN
Shadowmen C V.Lecavalier TB
Scourge D D.Boyle SJ
Severed Heads C E.Malkin PIT FP*

My Pick - Getzlaf has points and toughness and would otherwise be an FP (ask Mike). With Crosby, I've solidified my center and have addressed part of my TG issue.

Best Value Pick - I think that Bob snagging Lecavalier at #10 is insane, I understand it but suspect that a few GMs will regret letting him go by them come April.

WTF? - All the picks here are good, it is the first round, but is Semin's upside worth this injury risk?

Round 2 Draft Order

Severed Heads RW D.Briere PHI
Scourge D S.Gonchar PIT
Shadowmen C H.Sedin VAN
Bladerunners D B.Rafalski DET
Lost Boys G Thomas BOS
Wolves D Weber NSH**
Ramapithicines RW Gaborik NYR
Edge G Nabokov SJ
Great Whites LW Vanek BUF*
Knights Templar RW Perry ANA FP*
Personal Vendetta LW B.Morrow DAL
Highlanders D S.Niedermayer ANA

My Pick - Given a wrap-around position I decided that I would try and alternate between forward and d-man. Niedermayer was NOT at the top of my list but while I feel I've given up a few points (Striet was my option) I feel more confidence in Nieds.

Best Value Pick - Lots of good ones here, to be sure, but really love how Collin was able to take Nabokov a full round after I had predicted Collin taking him.

WTF? - While Gaborik is an obvious injury risk and it is always odd to take one's top goalie based on his back-up as Richard didin taking Thomas but my eyebrows were most raised by Cam's pick of Briere at pick #13. Seems a reach to me and an odd selection

Round 3 Draft Order

Highlanders RW A.Hemsky EDM
Personal Vendetta RW S.Doan PHX
Knights Templar G M.Kiprusoff CGY
Great Whites RW B.Boyes STL
Edge RW B.Gionta MTL
Ramapithicines C O.Jokinen CGY
Wolves RW N.Antropov ATL*
Lost Boys LW M.Cammaleri MTL
Bladerunners LW P.Marleau SJ
Shadowmen C M.Ribiero DAL
Scourge C J.Carter PHI*
Severed Heads C M.Richards PHI*

My Pick - The three names were Hemsky, Doan and Boyes. Doan's toughness was tough to pass on but in the end I went with the youngest and, IMO, the one with the most upside. Unshackled from MacT's coaching should be worth 5-10 more pts - I hope.

Best Value Pick - Still lots of good options to choose from but I like Chris' match on Carter, Bob's pick of Ribiero and Cam's pick of Richards. They will all be within 5 pts of each other come April.

WTF? - I have so little confidence in the Edge's selection of the Smurf, Gionta. It is simply my personal bias, to be sure, but I much prefer the match on Havlat in the following round and might have gone elsewhere with my pick.

Round 4 Draft Order

Severed Heads D K.Timonen PHI
Scourge LW S.Gagne PHI
Shadowmen LW A.Kovalev OTT
Bladerunners C D.Roy BUF
Lost Boys RW D.Brown LA**
Wolves C S.Gomez MTL
Ramapithicines D M.StreitNYI
Edge RW M.Havlat MIN*
Great Whites D B.Campbell CHI
Knights Templar C A.Kopitar LA*
Personal Vendetta LW A.Frolov LA
Highlanders D T.Kaberle TOR

My Pick - Corey and Dan started to walk down my d-man list so went with a normally reliable Kaberle. Hope that last season's injury was a one-off. Obvious comparisons will be to Souray, Bouwmeester and Kronwall.

Best Value Pick - While I may have my doubts, the numbers will say that Corey's selection of Streit was the steal here. From the "well somebody has to get points here" strategy, the flirtation with 60pts only needs a slight improvement of the Islander PP to become a reality.

WTF? - Cam picking Timonen. Look, he's a solid d-man but I think he would have still been there at his next wrap-around and the list of d-men selected after will be interesting to compare with Timonen's numbers in April. Indeed, this pick may look bad long before then.

Round 5 Draft Order

Highlanders LW P.Kariya STL
Personal Vendetta D S.Souray EDM
Knights Templar D J.Bouwmeester CGY
Great Whites D N.Kronwall DET
Edge LW J-P.Dumont NSH
Ramapithicines G S.Mason CLB
Wolves LW R.Whitney CAR
Lost Boys C M.Koivu MIN*
Bladerunners D R.Whitney ANA*
Shadowmen LW S.Kozlov ATL**
Scourge RW T.Selanne ANA
Severed Heads LW S.Hartnell PHI*

My Pick - Perhaps going to the well one too many times with Kariya but I thought he looked so good in STL prior to the injury that it was hard for me to pass him up at this point. It's not the years, it's the miles but if the new bionic hips hold up like he says they are - then he could prove to be a steal.

Best Value Pick - Cam matching on S.Hartnell was a no brainer given his combination of offense and offensiveness, scary part is that he is still getting better.

WTF? - Really can't say there is an obviously suspect call here, if pressed I would question whether Selanne might not have slipped a bit further.

Round 6 Draft Order

Severed Heads D C.Letang PIT
Scourge D D.Wideman BOS
Shadowmen D K.Bieksa VAN
Bladerunners D L.Visnovsky EDM
Lost Boys C D.Krejci BOS
Wolves LW A.McDonald STL
Ramapithicines LW K.Huselius CLB
Edge D M.Zidlicky MIN
Great Whites LW M.Michalek OTT*
Knights Templar LW M.Lucic BOS*
Personal Vendetta D R.Suter NSH*
Highlanders D D.Keith CHI

My Pick - The last of the top-end d-men are dropping off the table fast so I get Keith - my list had Burns, Jovocop and Corvo as other options but like the high EV vs PP pt totals.

Best Value Pick - Think that Chris taking Wideman was great hear. Last year I undervalued him and really regretted it.

WTF? - Well with Wideman, Visnovsky and others still on the board Cam's selection of Chris Letang seems awfully early. I love his game and love his PP teammates. Like Cam, I think he has a great future but this isn't the prospect draft or even the rfa rounds - this was a round or two too early.

Round 7 Draft Order

Highlanders RW P-M.Bouchard MIN
Personal Vendetta G N.Backstrom MIN
Knights Templar LW J.Franzen DET*
Great Whites D A.Edler VAN*
Edge C D.Backes STL
Ramapithicines D B.Burns MIN
Wolves RW M.Ryder BOS
Lost Boys RW M.Hejduk COL
Bladerunners D T.Gilbert EDM*
Shadowmen D E.Jovanovski PHX
Scourge D C.Barker CHI*
Severed Heads RW M.Knuble WAS**

My Pick - The comparable for me was Horton or Bouchard. Went with the dash over the crash in the hopes that unshackled from the trap first, score second attitude may help him more than Horton.

Best Value Pick - I really like Corey's selection of Burns here.

WTF? - No obvious bad calls here but I must say that I think that N.Backstrom's life post-trap will be a lot more challengeing that before the coaching change.

Round 8 Draft Order

Severed Heads D R.Blake SJ**
Scourge LW P.Sharp CHI
Shadowmen RW N.Horton FLA
Bladerunners D A.Gologoski PIT*
Lost Boys LW D.Booth FLA
Wolves LW C.Kunitz PIT
Ramapithicines D J.Corvo CAR
Edge D S.O'Brien** VAN
Great Whites RW J.Langenbrunner NJ
Knights Templar D J-M.Liles COL
Personal Vendetta C B.Richards DALCorvo
Highlanders RW S.Sullivan NSH

My Pick - Sullivan is a much bigger injury risk than I would have liked but if he can get 65 pts, it will be a good call.

Best Value Pick - I like Chris' pick of Sharp here and Rob's pick of Kunitz.

WTF? - I think Brian should have walked away from Gologoski's bid here, if the match would have preserved his RFA status that would have been one thing but there is a lot of risk that his pts last year were boosted by Gonchar's injury and with the Pens picking up Skoula (post draft) those fears seem justified.

Round 9-10 Draft Order

Highlanders C S.Crosby PIT FP
Personal Vendetta D N.Lidstrom DET FP
Knights Templar D F.Beauchamin TOR
Great Whites C E.Staal FP
Edge LW A.Ovechkin WAS FP
Ramapithicines D Z.Chara Bos FP
Wolves C J.Pavelski SJ
Lost Boys LW I.Kovalchuk ATL FP
Bladerunners RW J.Iginla CGY FP
Shadowmen G R.Luongo VAN FP
Scourge G H.Lundqvist NYR FP
Severed Heads D F.Kuba OTT*

Severed Heads LW D.Heatley SJ FP
Scourge C J.Spezza OTT FP
Shadowmen RW M.St.Louis TB FP
Bladerunners RW M.Hossa CHI FP
Lost Boys RW R.Nash CLB FP
Wolves D C.Pronger PHI FP
Ramapithicines LW A.Tanguay TB FP
Edge C J.Thornton SJ FP
Great Whites G M.Turco DAL FP
Knights Templar D B.Coburn PHI
Personal Vendetta C H.Zetterberg DET FP
Highlanders G M.Brodeur FP

My FPs - Crosby and Brodeur are both in the top two of their position and that usually is a pretty good thing.

Best FP pair - Love my two but Collin's Ovie and Jumbo Joe combo would tempt me. Watch Thornton's numbers jump this year with Heatley at his side.

WTF? - Kuba only makes sense, IMO, because Cam already has Karlsson. Wrong reason to take anyone in the FA rounds.

Round 11 Draft Order - from here on in all picks are RFAs

Highlanders LW D.Carcillo PHI
Personal Vendetta RW A.Ponikerovsky TOR
Knights Templar C R.Kesler VAN
Great Whites D J.Oduya NJ
Edge C S.Weiss FLA
Ramapithicines D J.Spacek MTL*
Wolves D J.Wisniewski ANA
Lost Boys D P.Kubina ATL*
Bladerunners D K.Ballard FLA
Shadowmen RW A.Burrows VAN*
Scourge RW R.Clowe SJ
Severed Heads G C.Ward CAR

My Pick - Lots and lots of PIMs. Could he crack 300? He certainly is in the right organization. Update: Right NHL organization but maybe not right FunHL organization as I traded him to the Great Whites before season started (another thing to review post-season).

Best Value Pick - I like Ward here, a lot.

WTF? - Matching on Spacek? Really? I don't think I would have done that.

Round 12 Draft Order

Severed Heads D J.Pitkannen CAR
Scourge C P.Elias NJ
Shadowmen LW S.Avery NYR
Bladerunners LW S.Ott DAL
Lost Boys RW T.Ruutu CAR*
Wolves RW B.Guerin PIT
Ramapithicines D K.Quincey COL
Edge LW J.Blake TOR
Great Whites LW M.Erat NSH
Knights Templar C J.Arnott NSH
Personal Vendetta LW R.Smyth LA**
Highlanders D B.McCabe FLA

My Pick - Reserve toughness (update, following my Carcillo trade this becomes needed toughness) and reasonable pts at this point in the draft.

Best Value Pick - Chris taking Elias may prove to be a real steal, especially as an RFA.

WTF? - Have to think that Corey reached a little on Quincey.

Round 13 Draft Order

Highlanders C P.O'Sullivan EDM
Personal Vendetta RW P.Sykora MIN
Knights Templar RW C.Neil OTT
Great Whites D M.Niskanen DAL
Edge D M-E.Vlasic SJ
Ramapithicines C Lombardi PHX
Wolves D B.Seabrook CHI*
Lost Boys C T.Zajac NJ
Bladerunners RW D.Stafford BUF
Shadowmen D D.Grebeshkov EDM
Scourge R D.Clarkson NJ*
Severed Heads C D.Langkow CGY

My Pick - O'Sullivan was tearing it up in the preseason and the expectation is that he ends up on a line with Hemsky.

Best Value Pick - I really like Neil here, but wonder if Mike will be able to fit him in on a good right wing once Kane (and I believe Little) are promoted.

WTF? - Lombardi and Langkow? I'm reminded of a line from the Simpsons - "You are smarter than you look. Or... our best testing indicates." Well Lombardi and Langkow are what they are, which is ok in the NHL but they really are not going to get any better, which is bad in the FunHL. And after Phoenix picked up Robert Lang (post draft) and Calgary sent Langkow to Abbotsford, these selections look even worse.

Round 14 Draft Order

Severed Heads D C.Campoli OTT
Scourge D T.Enstrom ATL
Shadowmen LW V.Prospal NYR
Bladerunners D P.Mara MTL
Lost Boys G M-A.Fleury PIT**
Wolves D M.Roszival NYR
Ramapithicines LW M.Sturm BOS
Edge R C.Stillman FLA
Great Whites LW A.Kostitsyn MTL
Knights Templar D K.Johnsson MIN
Personal Vendetta D C.Ehrhoff VAN*
Highlanders G S.Varlamov WAS

My Pick - If I have to play my back-up goalie then I have some problems but if there was someone out there who might be able to surplant someone else's starter - well the hope is that Varlamov is that guy.

Best Value Pick - I slam Cam a lot here, and it's fun, but Campoli is a fantastic pick at this point in the draft. Way, way, way better than Kuba btw. See, couldn't resist. I feel bad.

WTF? - You couldn't find a lefie better than Sturm? I think you had a brain cramp or something because I can find several. How about the next one taken (Kostitsyn).

Round 15 Draft Order

Highlanders LW J.Lupul ANA
Personal Vendetta D P.Martin NJ*
Knights Templar D M.Hunwick BOS
Great Whites D W.Mitchell VAN
Edge LW R.Bourque CGY
Ramapithicines RW R.Callahan NYR
Wolves D M.Ohlund TB*
Lost Boys D S.Montador BUF
Bladerunners RW A.Cogliano EDM
Shadowmen D K.Yandle PHX*
Scourge D R.Hainsey ATL*
Severed Heads C P.Bergeron**

My Pick - Can you really go home again? That is the question with this pick. Lupul is back with the only team that was able to get the most out of him. I'm hoping that he is back on the top line and recaptures some of that old magic.

Best Value Pick - Speaking for my heart, I have a soft spot for Bergeron and see ppg potential here. Good pick Cam.

WTF? - Brain here, Bergeron has ppg potential - sure - the question is how many games does he have in him before he breaks for good. Bergeron makes a great center for Briere, sure, but it should tell you something that even Corey "Blue Cross" Milne gave Bergeron a pass. Hope I'm wrong here but Bergeron is one hit away from a retirement press conference.

Round 16 Draft Order

Severed Heads LW C.Versteeg CHI
Scourge LW A.Ladd CHI
Shadowmen D F.Tyutin CLB*
Bladerunners LW R.Malone*
Lost Boys LW E.Cole CAR
Wolves D S.Salo VAN*
Ramapithicines G C.Mason STL
Edge C C.Drury NYR
Great Whites D V.Koistinen FLA
Knights Templar D M.Carle PHI*
Personal Vendetta LW T.Bertuzzi DET
Highlanders LW W.Wolski COL

My Pick - It better be a very lucrative contract year for Wolski, the word "bust" is starting to settle in.

Best Value Pick - Love the Versteeg pick here and it is underlined by Ladd going right after, IMO.

WTF? - Lest it look like I can't turn a critical eye towards myself, let's return to Wolski. Isn't this really a case of closing the barn door after the left-wing horses have all fled. Soft player, soft pick.

Round 17 Draft Order

Highlanders D A.Meszaros TB
Personal Vendetta D W.Redden NYR
Knights Te mplar C S.Horcoff EDM*
Great Whites G P.Rinnie NSH
Edge D A.Colliacovo STL
Ramapithicines C T.Connolly BUF*
Wolves G J-S.Giguere ANA
Lost Boys D C.Rivet BUF*
Bladerunners G R.Miller BUF*
Shadowmen D C.Schneider VAN
Scourge C Grabovski TOR
Severed Heads RW J.Cheechoo OTT

My Pick - Meszaros suffered from an injured shoulder and placement in Tampa. The shoulder is healed and, perhaps, so is Tampa. If so, he should return to flirting with 40pts.

Best Value Pick - Like Rinnie here (the other rookie of the year goalie) but will go with Colliacovo in StLouis, he could be scary good if he can stay healthy.

WTF? - Darrell. Redden. Put a fork in him.

Round 18 Draft Order

Severed Heads G R.Emery PHI
Scourge RW M.Samuelsson VAN
Shadowmen D D.Morris BOS
Bladerunners C B.Laich WAS
Lost Boys D Giordano CGY
Wolves G J.Hiller ANA (promoted, from hereafter +)
Ramapithicines RW Afinogenov ATL+
Edge D T.Daley DAL
Great Whites C Bolland CHI
Knights Templar RW Moss CGY
Personal Vendetta D T.Poti WAS
Highlanders C V.Fillpulla DET

My Pick - Is Fillpulla ready for a breakout? If he is, I hope to be the one taking advantage of it.

Best Value Pick - Cam taking Ray Emery is fantastic here, if Russia straightenend him out he could be scary good behind that defense.

WTF? - Moss? Homer call.

Round 19 Draft Order

Highlanders D J.Ericsson DET
Personal Vendetta RW J.Williams DET
Knights Templar RW S.Walker CAR
Great Whites D S.Eminger** ANA
Edge RW C.Kobasew BOS
Ramapithicines D J.Johnson LA+
Wolves C P.Mueller PHX+
Lost Boys D S.Hamhuis NSH
Bladerunners C R.Peverley ATL
Shadowmen G T.Vokoun FLA
Scourge D S.Robidas DAL
Severed Heads LW P.Demitra VAN

My Pick - Is this the year Ericsson makes the team and goes to town? Probably not but he looks the part, doesn't he?

Best Value Pick - I know it is off his own prospect list but you have to like Jack Johnson here.

WTF?- Peverly is going back to the AHL, should have taken White.

Round 20 - 22 Draft Order

Severed Heads RW R.Kessel TOR+ / D Sbisa ANA / D Murphy NJ+
Scourge LW S.Samsonov CAR / G Anderson COL / D Foster TB
Shadowmen C S.Koivu ANA*/ D Boynton ANA / RW Okposo NYI+
Bladerunners D Gervais NYI / G Quick LA / C Backstrom WAS+
Lost Boys D R.Hamrlik MTL* / D B.Lee OTT+ / D Vishnevski DAL+
Wolves RW L.Erikkson DAL+ / LW Frolik FLA+ / C J.Toews CHI+
Ramapithicines D E.Johnson STL+ / C Brassard CLB+ / RW Pominville BUF+
Edge D Z.Michalek PHX / D Girardi NYR / G M.Smith TB
Great Whites RW J.Boll CLB / C P.Statsny COL+ / C J.Staal PIT+
Knights Templar G J.Lehtinen ATL / D A.Sekera BUF / LW B.Ryan ANA+
Personal Vendetta C T.White ATL / D M.Staal NYR+ / G J.Harding MIN+
Highlanders D M.Komisarek TOR / RW M.Svatos COL / D M.Green WAS+

My last 3 picks - Komisarek is reserve toughness (now traded to Dan). Svatos is more from the well of Wolski, soft player in a contract year. Green is a flyer but he looks to have some potential.

Best Value Pick - Backstrom is nice but of the picks that anyone could have had here, I like potential that Samsonov has to become a dressable player.

WTF? - At this point in the draft, this is unfair but fate has dealt a blow to Lee already as the Sens have sent him back down to the AHL.

There you go. See you in April with the white-out to correct my mistakes.

Highlanders' Week One Line-up

2009-09-29T15:00:00.003-06:00

The Highlanders’ GM really wanted to say that I had a blast on Saturday with the draft and getting to see everyone (including Rob – that was fantastic) and am looking forward to seeing everyone again soon.

Cam, sorry you could not make it up but I completely understand why and hope everything goes smoothly with the birth.In the hopes that when we hook up next summer it will be to return some Predator and Challenge Cup hardware to my currently empty hands, here is the Highlander’s week one line-up.

First Challenge Cup game is against the dreaded Shadowmen. Now, drop the puck!

(Before the line-up deadline Dan and I consumate a trade.)

Left
Kariya-STL
Michalek-OTT
Wolski-COL RFA
bench
Lupul-ANA RFA

Center
CROSBY-PIT FP
Getzlaf-ANA tg
Filppula-DET RFA
bench
O'Sullivan-EDM RFA

Right
Hemsky-EDM
Bouchard-MIN
Sullivan-NSH
bench
Svatos-COL RFA

Defense
Green-WSH RFA
S.Niedermayer ANA
Kaberle-TOR
Kronwall-DET
McCabe-FLA RFA tg
Ericsson-DET RFA
bench
Meszaros-TB RFA
Niskanen-DAL RFA

Goal
BRODEUR-NJ
benchVarlamov-WSH RFA

Tough Guys
C Getzlaf-ANA
D McCabe-FLA RFA

Prospects
Gagner-C EDM (P3)
Voracek-R CBS (P3)
Bernier-G LA (P3)
Caputi-R PIT (P2)
Purcell-R LA (P2)
Radulov-R NSH (P1)
Del Zotto-D NYR (P1)
McBain-D CAR (P1)

Draft Picks
plus none 2010
minus 1st,2nd 2010

The Highlanders Look To Win It All This Season

2009-09-29T14:55:00.003-06:00

Shamelessly reprinted from the FunHL Blog.

Last season the all-powerful predictive power of the Hockey Pool magazines correctly presaged that the Personal Vendetta would hoist the Predator Cup - (Well McKeen's predicted a Vendetta win while the Score predicted the Scourge and the Hockey News predicted the Edge?!) - so who now can doubt the uncanny powers of the Mystic Order of Hockey Pool Sages...

While there may have been confusion and doubt in last season's predictions this year the Hockey Gods foretell but one outcome and one race - the Highlanders will win a narrow victory over the Bladerunners, reprising their most recent win in 2007. The Herbivore will go to the Lost Boys (according to both the Hockey News and McKeen's) or the Wolves (according to the Score).

The table is based on the consensus of the predicted rankings according to three usual guide magazines: the Hockey News Ultimate Pool Guide, the Score Sports Forcaster and McKeen's Pool Guide. The individual predictions do not include any accomodation for tough guys, +/- players, injuries, astute coaching decisions, expert trading of players, prospects or draft picks or even (in the case of McKeen's, who are now alone in not providing these) goaltending stats. It does assume that you will use the highest predicted pointing line-up based on each guide's point predictions as of draft day.

Please package my Predator Cup in the double-strength bubble-wrap that I usually wrap Sidney Crosby in every night and ship same to the City of Champions c/o Not Worth The Paper They Are Written On Enterprises, corner of Vanity Way and Ego Lane.

December 7, 2008 - About time.

2008-12-07T09:47:00.001-07:00

Highlanders Moving Up The Standings

2008-11-27T15:35:00.000-07:00

Highlanders' Week Two Line-up

2008-10-16T15:37:00.001-06:00

Waive LW Clowe SJ rfa, promote LW Mueller PHO p3.

LW - Gagne PHI, Whitney CAR, Mueller PHO p3/ Penner EDM rfa

C - Crosby PIT fp, Marleau SJ, Bergeron BOS rfa/ Sundin UFA rfa

RW - Boyes STL, Vrbata TB rfa, Clarkson NJ rfa (tg)/ Laich WAS rfa

D - Pronger ANA fp (tg), Green WAS p3, Corvo CAR, Bouwmeester FLA, Coburn PHI, Yandle PHO rfa/ Stralman TOR rfa, Harrold LA rfa

G - Kiprusoff CGY/ Ellis NSH rfa

TG - D Pronger ANA fp, RW Clarkson NJ rfa

p3 - D Green WAS (promoted), LW Mueller PHO (promoted), RW Okposo NYI
p2 - C Little ATL, RW Setoguchi SJ, D Franson NSH, G Bernier LA
p1 - D Hedman SWE

2009 PrD
No changes

Highlander's Week One Line-up

2008-10-02T00:02:00.001-06:00

Highlanders' Week One Line-up (barring any last-minute corrections).

Waive D A.Picard OTT rfa to promote D M.Green WAS P3

LW - S.Gagne PHI, R.Whitney CAR, R.Clowe SJ rfa/ D.Penner EDM rfa
C - S.Crosby PIT fp, P.Marleau SJ, P.Bergeron BOS rfa, / M.Sundin UFA rfa
RW - B.Boyes STL, R.Vrbata TB rfa, D.Clarkson NJ rfa (tg) / B.Laich WAS rfa
D - C.Pronger ANA fp (tg), M.Green WAS p3, J.Corvo CAR, J.Bouwmeester FLA, B.Coburn PHI, K.Yandle PHO rfa / A.Stralman TOR rfa, P.Harrold LA rfa
G - M.Kiprusoff CGY / D.Ellis NSH rfa

p3- D M.Green WAS (promoted), LW P.Mueller PHO, RW K.Okposo NYI
p2- C B.Little ATL, RW D.Setoguchi SJ, D C.Franson NSH, G J.Bernier LA
p1- D V.Hedman SWE

2009 PrD
no changes

Draft Day Analysis - From the Highlander Perspective

2008-09-24T14:39:00.011-06:00

Draft day arrived last Saturday and was well attended. This was my first draft where I came in with my electronic list and while that should make things easier having the constant pings of the next MSN post go off was more distracting than I might care to admit. Truth be told, however, it was a blast and hopefully was successful.

If you are a non-FunHL visitor, a few quick facts about this 17-year old fantasy league. The FunHL is a basic 12 team points pool, with a couple of twists. You draft by position, set at the start of the year by the Hockey News Guidebook, and play three lines every week (3 LW, 3 C, 3 RW, 6 D) and one goalie. In addition to pts for goals and assists, every week you designate two "tough guys" who get an additional 1/4pt for every penalty minute they receive. If you want, you can designate a player as a "+/-" player and, instead of goals and assists, get twice their +/- value for the week but this can be a negative number. Goalies pts are calculated by a formula involving minutes played and goals against average but essentially a 60 minute shutout is worth 3.75pts.

We have a big draft every year but we do have some keeper elements to out pool. Each team has two Franchise Players (FPs) whose rights will only expire if released or traded. Players selected in the first 8 rounds of the draft will be free agents in next year's draft. Players selected in the last 12 rounds of the draft have Restricted Free Agent (RFA) status for the following season's draft allowing the rights-holding GM to match, with their next pick, any bid on they during the following year's entry draft. There is no compensation if you choose not to match. Once the main draft is done we hold a prospect draft. Each team starts the year with 8 prospects whose rights expire four years after drafting them. Prospects can be promoted up to the active squad without losing their prospect status. We have two Waiver Drafts during the year but the Waiver Wire is limited to players dropped by other teams that week and once passed over are no longer available. Two paragraphs, not bad. Now, back to the Highlanders' draft...

With the need to promote Crosby as a new FP, I was going to be behind the pack until the rfa rounds and, given that I was drafting 10th, fully aware that I would have only one shot at a top-flight goaltender. That would probably tie up my first two picks. My rfa crop included three potential matchs: rw B.Boyes in STL, d B.Coburn in PHI and d D.Wideman in BOS. I had three P4s who could, potentially, be promoted to rfa status: lw R.Olesz FLA, c S.Weiss FLA and g R.Dipieto NYI. Also influencing the main draft were three promotable P3 prospects: lw P.Mueller PHO, rw K.Okposo NYI (the most risky of the three), and d M.Green WAS. I was only intending to select one more prospect come the prospect rounds.

Round 1:

SEVERED HEADS Lecavalier C TB
P.VENDETTA Datsyuk LW DET
WOLVES Alfredson RW OTT
BLADERUNNERS Gonchar D PIT
RAMAPITHICINES Getzlaf C ANA
SHADOWMEN St.Louis RW TB FP
EDGE Nabakov G SJ
LOST BOYS Nash LW CLB FP
SCOURGE Campbell D CHI
HIGHLANDERS Crosby C PIT FP (match sh)
KNIGHTS TEMPLAR Markov D MTL
GREAT WHITES E.Staal C Car FP (match lb)

As per my prediction, Cam takes Lecavalier after bidding on Crosby, which is matched. No real surprises (save for Rob NOT surprising with Alfredson) until Corey selects Getzlaf - whom Bob was intending to take with the next pick. St.Louis is a fine selection but I still think Nash was the call here. Collin is thrilled to get Nabakov, Richard mikes a prefunctory jump at Staal, which is matched, and then goes for Nash. The d-man rush, a late first round tradition from way-back, begins with Chris and Campbell and Mike and Markov.

CROSBY C PIT FP - No need to go into any great detail here. Hopefully this pick will be a Highlander until his retirement in 2030 with multiple scoring titles and Predator Cups to his credit.

Round 2: (note draft goes up in the snake draft format)

SEVERED HEADS Satan RW PIT
P. VENDETTA Hemsky RW EDM
WOLVES D.Sedin LW VAN
BLADERUNNERS Briere C PHI
RAMAPITHICINES Niedermayer D ANA
SHADOWMEN Savard C BOS
EDGE Jokinen C PHO
LOST BOYS Giguere G ANA
SCOURGE Boyle D SJ
HIGHLANDERS Kiprusoff G CGY
KNIGHTS TEMPLAR Rafalski D DET
GREAT WHITES Doan RW PHO

Dan sneaks in one pick before his anticipated rfa matches, and a good one at that now that he has an elite pivot to work with, while three more d-men are taken in the round. Hemsky is the steal of the round, IMO, and Cam's pick of Satan is a reach.

KIPRUSOFF G CGY - I didn't expect to have a choice of goalies with my second pick and felt I couldn't risk waiting another round so I took Kipper's huge minutes and will hope for a more defensive posture by the Flames and a rebound by the Finn. The obvious "woulda-shoulda-coulda" comparison will be with Giguere, who Richard takes two picks later.

Round 3:

SEVERED HEADS Osgood G DET
P. VENDETTA T.Kaberle D TOR
WOLVES H.Sedin C VAN
BLADERUNNERS Morrow LW DAL
RAMAPITHICINES Redden D NYR
SHADOWMEN Roy C BUF
EDGE Frolov RW LA
LOST BOYS P.M.Bouchard RW MIN (poach ram)
SCOURGE Selanne RW ANA
HIGHLANDERS Corvo D CAR
KNIGHTS TEMPLAR Ribeiro C DAL (match wlv)
GREAT WHITES Semin LW WAS (match shad)

I like the Morrow pick here and think that the Frolov pick could prove to be fantastic. Bouchard was an interesting poach here that would not have been let go had Corey not been so flush with right wing prospects. The bid on Ribero was expected, the one on Semin was not but ultimately Dan decided - correctly, IMO - that at this point rfa matching was merely a question of order and not a question of legitimacy.

CORVO D CAR - Really took off last year when given a chance to anchor the Carolina PP, his ppg post-trade was unreal 21/23 after going 27/51 before the trade. Still, there may have been a tactical value in bidding on Knights rfa d-man B.Burns which, if matched by Mike (and Burns was certainly a legit potential match at this point) would have given a free ride to my rfas for another round. Still, on my lists - Corvo was the guy to take and it would have been a real drop off to have been stuck with Burns.

Round 4: (again, read from bottom of round up)

SEVERED HEADS Kronwall D DET (match shad)
P. VENDETTA Cammalleri LW CGY (match edge)
WOLVES Kovalev RW MON (match edge)
BLADERUNNERS Avery LW DAL
RAMAPITHICINES McCabe D FLA
SHADOWMEN Jovanovski D PHO
EDGE Kariya LW STL
LOST BOYS Langkow C CGY
SCOURGE M.Richards C PHI
HIGHLANDERS Boyes RW STL (match kt)
KNIGHTS TEMPLAR Zherdev RW NYR (poach sh)
GREAT WHITES Parise LW NJ (match shad)

The rfa rounds won't officially start until round 11, but they are in full swing at this point. Zherdev was a suspect bid and Kronwall a suspect match given what was still out there. I like the Avery pick at this point a lot.

BOYES RW STL - Would have loved to have gone one more round before having to match on him but this is about right. He's entering his fourth season but probably had his breakout season last year. If he can maintain his early season pace all year he could hit over 70pts but even if he just maintains a steady 65pt pace he will be ok. When the season is done a comparison to P.Sykora's totals will be instructive.

Round 5:

SEVERED HEADS Timonen D PHI
P. VENDETTA Backstrom G MIN
WOLVES Dumont LW NSH (match edge)
BLADERUNNERS Visnovsky D EDM
RAMAPITHICINES Carcillo LW PHO
SHADOWMEN Sykora RW PIT
EDGE Gomez C NYR
LOST BOYS Sakic C COL
SCOURGE Sharp LW CHI
HIGHLANDERS Bouwmeester D FLA
KNIGHTS TEMPLAR Burns D MIN (match shad)
GREAT WHITES Horton RW FLA (match lb)

Visnovsky is another steal by the Bladerunners, IMO. Carcillo is a great pick by the Ramapithicines though I expect he will not rack up the same number of misconduct penalties but should get more pts with the puck. I have concerns about Backstrom but he was the best of the rest and, save for last year, Darrell is always strong when it comes to his masked men.

BOUWMEESTER D FLA - Two seasons ago I matched on Bouwmeester with some guides pegging him for 60pts. I am not expecting that he'll hit 60pts but given that only 5 d-men scored more than his 15 goals last season, his contract year and the fact that Florida will want to showcase him for a potential trade - he should be in for a career year.

Round 6: (you have figured out the wrap-around thing now, right?)

SEVERED HEADS Letang D PIT (match bl)
P. VENDETTA Huselius RW CLB
WOLVES Streit D NYI
BLADERUNNERS Pitkanen D CAR
RAMAPITHICINES Liles D COL
SHADOWMEN Meszaros D TB
EDGE Zubov D DAL
LOST BOYS Gionta RW NJ
SCOURGE Cheechoo RW SJ
HIGHLANDERS Gagne LW PHI
KNIGHTS TEMPLAR Arnott C NSH (match ram)
GREAT WHITES Souray D EDM

Ok, this is the round of question marks. Souray and Gagne are big injury risks while Zubov is currently hurt. Cheechoo may be a shadow of his former self and Streit may have been a mirage last year. Liles, Pitkanen and Huselius have histories of being less than advertised while Letang needs to be better than advertised, at least for today, to justify the pick (that said, post-draft S.Gonchar went down hurt so, along with R.Whitney's injury, Letang may get his chance to justify his early match. I like the Meszaros pick here but that may simply be by process of elimination.

GAGNE LW PHI - Last season I really wanted Gagne but he was taken by the Bladerunners one pick before I could nab him. Turned out that was a good thing as he went down hurt and his concussion risk remains very high. The talent, however, is just too much to ignore. Last year I had him as a possible ppg winger and while I'm not banking on that many pts, I don't think it's out of the realm of possibility. If he can exceed 65pts then this is a clear win for me. The comparison will be with A.Kostitsyn a safer pick but with less upside, IMO.

Round 7:

SEVERED HEADS Niel RW OTT
P. VENDETTA Zidlicky D MIN
WOLVES Plekanec C MTL
BLADERUNNERS Wolski LW COL
RAMAPITHICINES Rolston C NJ
SHADOWMEN A.Kostitsyn LW MTL
EDGE Stillman LW FLA
LOST BOYS Nylander C WAS
SCOURGE Enstrom D ATL
HIGHLANDERS Marleau C SJ
KNIGHTS TEMPLAR Cole LW EDM
GREAT WHITES Demitra C VAN

Niel is a good grab here by Cam with the weakenss out there on RW. I really like both the Zidlicky and Enstrom picks here and Nylander lasted way, way too long.

MARLEAU C SJ - I have to believe that last season was a low-water mark for Marleau. He has a new coach, will probably get a chance to play more with Thornton (as he is adjusting to the wing role) and his playoff, particularly against Calgary, was good. He's only a year removed from back-to-back point per game seasons so 70+pts would certainly be within his grasp. Another sub-50 season really seems hard to envision. Demitra and Drury are the next two centers taken so they are the natural post-season comparisons.

Round 8: (up is down, snake draft thing again)

SEVERED HEADS Bieksa D VAN
P. VENDETTA Keith D CHI (match gw)
WOLVES Wideman D BOS (poach hl)
BLADERUNNERS Drury C NYR
RAMAPITHICINES Erat LW NSH (match hl)
SHADOWMEN Naslund LW NYR
EDGE Cogliano RW EDM
LOST BOYS Higgins RW MTL (match hl)
SCOURGE Bertuzzi RW CGY
HIGHLANDERS Whitney LW CAR
KNIGHTS TEMPLAR Kunitz LW ANA
GREAT WHITES Schneider D ANA

Scheider is a great pick by Dan as evidenced by the d-men who go at the back-end of the round. Bertuzzi is a solid pick here and probably earns Cam a Coke bet win if we can find the e-mail wherein I may have said that he would last to the rfa rounds.

WHITNEY LW CAR - Whitney is 36 years old so he is clearly on the downward slope of his carear but he's only two years removed from an 83pt season and was on pace last year for 76. He can't be expected to be an elite left winger - but anything close to a ppg with 65+ games will look pretty good for an 8th round pick.

Round 9:

SEVERED HEADS Elias LW NJ FP
P. VENDETTA Zetterberg LW DET FP
WOLVES Gaborik RW MIN FP
BLADERUNNERS Iginla RW CGY FP
RAMAPITHICINES Chara D BOS FP
SHADOWMEN Prospal LW TB
EDGE Ovechkin LW WAS FP
LOST BOYS Brunette LW MIN
SCOURGE Spezza C OTT FP
HIGHLANDERS Coburn D PHI (match wlv)
KNIGHTS TEMPLAR Tanguay LW MON FP
GREAT WHITES Rozsival D NYR (match wlv)

The FP rounds start here but with four GMs swapping out their FPs we have a couple of picks and couple of Wolves rfa d-man bids that are matched (he ends up poaching Wideman near the end of the previous round). Full marks to Bob for managing to get Prospal as late as he did - whatever the "cycle" he is on, he is well worth a 9th round selection.

COBURN D PHI - Certainly would love to have had him as an rfa but think I did well by holding on to him. Obviously the quick comparison will be with Wideman, who Rob successfully poaches instead. The question of whether I should have matched on him is still open as well.

Round 10: (ALL FPs)

SEVERED HEADS L D.Heatley OTT
P. VENDETTA D N.Lidstrom DET
WOLVES G M.Brodeur NJ
BLADERUNNERS R M.Hossa DET
RAMAPITHICINES G M.Turco DAL
SHADOWMEN G R.Luongo VAN
EDGE C J.Thornton SJ
LOST BOYS L I.Kovalchuk ATL
SCOURGE C B.Richards DAL
HIGHLANDERS D C.Pronger ANA
KNIGHTS TEMPLAR R M.Hejduk COL
GREAT WHITES G Lundqvist NYR

PRONGER D ANA - Yah, he'll do. Solid pts from the back-end and toughness to boot - on a Highlander team that is looking very, very creampuff. He is probably one more brain-cramp from a serious suspension but hopefully he can keep his stomps on the corect side of the line this season and I think having Niedermayer around all year will help.

Round 11: (the RFA rounds open)

SEVERED HEADS Havlat RW CHI
P. VENDETTA Suter D NSH (match kt)
WOLVES Whitney D PIT
BLADERUNNERS Ryder RW BOS
RAMAPITHICINES Lupul RW PHI(match hl)
SHADOWMEN S.Kostitsyn RW MTL
EDGE Tucker RW COL
LOST BOYS Blake D SJ
SCOURGE Smyth LW COL
HIGHLANDERS Vrbata RW TB (poach KT)
KNIGHTS TEMPLAR Stortini RW EDM
GREAT WHITES Oduya D NJ

Rob is giddy at the thought of getting Whitney as an rfa, an early return could be a great steal for the Wolves and an early ED slot next year could result in a steal next year as well. Havlat is, well Havlat. Cam will get a chance to repeat the movie for at least one more season.

VRBATA RW TB - I was hoping that Ryder would have slipped, but it didn't happen. Had Mike matched then I would have gone and got Afinogenov - whom Cam gets at the end of the next round - but I'm not disappointed with Vrbata. Currently he looks to be riding shotgun for Stamkos and he will NOT be pushing St.Louis off the first line in TB but if the Lightning go for a firewagon gameplan, then he'll be in the thick of the mix. At 27, he's hitting the prime production years and coming off a carear year there may be more than the 50pts I'm counting on.

Round 12: (really, do we need to go over the odd-even/down-up thing again)

SEVERED HEADS Afinogenov RW BUF
P. VENDETTA Martin D NJ (match wlv)
WOLVES Hecht LW BUF (poach lb)
BLADERUNNERS Gilbert D EDM
RAMAPITHICINES Horcoff C EDM(match gw)
SHADOWMEN Ranger D TB (match edge)
EDGE Priessing D LA
LOST BOYS Carle D TB
SCOURGE Fleury G PIT
HIGHLANDERS Bergeron C BOS
KNIGHTS TEMPLAR Lucic LW BOS
GREAT WHITES Franzen LW DET

More matches than poaches at this point in the draft, some from earlier rounds. Franzen will be one pick to watch - is he another playoff supernova or was he really emerging as a legit force the last few months of last season - I'm betting that he's legit. Carle snuck around much longer than I would have thought and Richard should be pleased. I like Gilbert and, at this stage, I like the Fleury pick by Chris. The defensive hits the Pens have taken will make this even riskier now but I still think it was a good call based on how Fleury picked it up last season after coming back from injury.

BERGERON C BOS - Risk and reward. If he's hurt again, he could be gone good. That is pretty high in the risk department but just last season we were all looking at him as a possible +ppg center. Yes it is the pre-season but his first game got him 4pts so the talent is there. If he comes through, this could be a very important pick for the Highlanders - one bad shot to the head and...

Round 13:

SEVERED HEADS Hartnell LW PHI
P. VENDETTA McDonald C STL
WOLVES Malone LW TB
BLADERUNNERS Leclaire G CLB
RAMAPITHICINES Connolly C BUF
SHADOWMEN Sturm LW BOS (match wlv)
EDGE Seabrook D CHI
LOST BOYS Kubina D TOR (match edge)
SCOURGE Umberger C CLB
HIGHLANDERS Clarkson RW NJ
KNIGHTS TEMPLAR Bryzgalov G PHO (poach edge)
GREAT WHITES S.Koivu C MTL

I really like the Hartnell pick here, in fact Cam takes both Afinogenov and Hartnell and spikes the two names I had highlighted in hopes of their possible return down to my selection. With Hartnell gone, Malone was a good reply. Umberger will be very interesting to watch - he was on my "interesting but let someone else get him" list. Bryzgalov is a great second goalie pick by Mike...oh, that's his first...good luck with that.

CLARKSON RW NJ - A poor man's Chris Neil, at least I hope so. If last year's stats are anything to go by he may be more of a Costco version of Neil - same great PIM production for rounds less than you would pay somewhere else. At least that is the hope. In fact, that will probably be the comparison (along with Stortini and Boll).

Round 14: (I'm just going to assume you have got it figured out now.)

SEVERED HEADS Brind'Amour C CAR
P. VENDETTA Walker RW CAR
WOLVES Murray D SJ
BLADERUNNERS Salo D VAN (poach br)
RAMAPITHICINES Tkachuk LW STL (poach edge)
SHADOWMEN Boucher D DAL
EDGE Ohlund D VAN
LOST BOYS Rivet D BUF
SCOURGE Poti D WAS
HIGHLANDERS Yandle D PHO
KNIGHTS TEMPLAR Antropov C TOR
GREAT WHITES Boll RW CLB

Seven d-men go in the 14th but at this point it is more of a cull than a run. Antropov and Brind'Amour are the non-defensive ones to look at now.

YANDLE D PHO - A reach or a shrewd call, we'll probably know soon enough. If Phoenix is for real than Jovo-cop will need a pp partner - Yandle may be the guy given that they sent the other d-man options away in the Jokinen trade with Florida. Could be a boom, a bust or a bit too soon.

Round 15:

SEVERED HEADS Kuba D OTT (poach kt)
P. VENDETTA Blake LW TOR
WOLVES O'Brien D TB (match sh)
BLADERUNNERS Edler D VAN
RAMAPITHICINES Berard D PHI (poach gw)
SHADOWMEN Hainsey D ATL (match br)
EDGE Aucoin D CGY
LOST BOYS Stafford RW BUF
SCOURGE Robidas D DAL
HIGHLANDERS Stralman D TOR
KNIGHTS TEMPLAR Salei D COL (match pv)
GREAT WHITES Niskanen D DAL

We are really scraping the bottom of the barrel here on d-men which is why Stafford and even Blake look so good here.

STRALMAN D TO - Ok, another swing for the fences but unlike some of the other names taken before him I think there is some reasonable hope of upside - and soon.

Round 16: (are you reading top to bottom again? I thought I could trust you)

SEVERED HEADS Johnsson D MIN
P. VENDETTA Spacek D BUF (match br)
WOLVES Modano C DAL (poach kt)
BLADERUNNERS Girardi D NYR
RAMAPITHICINES Van Ryn D TOR
SHADOWMEN Backes RW STL
EDGE V.Kozlov RW WAS (poach shad)
LOST BOYS Gerber G OTT
SCOURGE Boynton D FLA
HIGHLANDERS Clowe LW SJ
KNIGHTS TEMPLAR Knuble RW PHI
GREAT WHITES Ballard D FLA

CLOWE LW SJ - Great coming out party last year during the playoffs, can he do it over a whole season? I sure hope so.

Round 17:

SEVERED HEADS Stuart D DET (poach kt)
P. VENDETTA Legwand C NSH (match wlv)
WOLVES Bernier RW VAN
BLADERUNNERS S.Kozlov LW ATL
RAMAPITHICINES Hamhuis D NSH (match sh)
SHADOWMEN Morris D PHO
EDGE Hamrlik D MTL (match shad)
LOST BOYS Clark D COL
SCOURGE Holmstrom RW DET (match shad)
HIGHLANDERS Harrold D LA
KNIGHTS TEMPLAR Lang C MTL (poach sc)
GREAT WHITES Langenbrunner RW NJ

Really wanted Bernier, this is what prompts me to look at Corey's list and make a pitch, successfully, to trade for Penner EDM off his rfa list. It's not a great coup but it does give me some security that I will have a choice back there.

HARROLD D LA - This is a pick that got a lot of raised eyebrows and outright guffaws from the assembled masses but the thought here is that with Blake and Visnovsky gone, someone is going to be quarterbacking the powerplay. The fear was that it might be Schneider but as I write this he's been traded to Atlanta so that risk has now abated. I really only need one of my d-man gambles to hit hard (when combined with my top 5) to give me an awsome defense so I think I'm onto a better option here that what else was available. Gologoski PIT and Koistinen NSH are the two that may have been the better calls but my list was really hyping Harrold so I couldn't risk losing him.

Round 18: (if you don't get it at this point...)

SEVERED HEADS M.A.Bergeron D MIN
P. VENDETTA Comrie C NYI (match wlv)
WOLVES Beauchemin D ANA
BLADERUNNERS Goligoski D PIT
RAMAPITHICINES Lehtinen RW DAL
SHADOWMEN Sekeras D BUF
EDGE Burrows LW VAN
LOST BOYS Phillips D OTT (match gw)
SCOURGE Legace G STL
HIGHLANDERS Sundin C UFA
KNIGHTS TEMPLAR Koistinen D NSH
GREAT WHITES Ehrhoff D SJ

Burrows is a great late pick here, I like Beauchemin for being safe and Bergeron for being a legit risk at this point (not for me, but completely justifiable - I just feel his act is getting old faster and faster as he goes from team to team now).

SUNDIN C UFA - As a fourth center, this could be a great pick or a real waste. With no legit center prospect, I had best hope he makes up his mind quickly because there isn't much security should one of my top three need injury protection.

Round 19:

SEVERED HEADS Vokoun G FLA (poach kt)
P. VENDETTA Komisarek D MTL (match lb)
WOLVES Theodore G WAS
BLADERUNNERS Kotalik RW BUF (poach kt)
RAMAPITHICINES Huet G CHI
SHADOWMEN Schubert D OTT
EDGE Ward G CAR (match shad)
LOST BOYS Zajac LW NJ
SCOURGE O'Sullivan LW LA - promoted
HIGHLANDERS Picard D OTT
KNIGHTS TEMPLAR Lehtinen G ATL (poach edge)
GREAT WHITES Steen LW TOR

But for his contract dispute, O'Sullivan would have been seen as a better promotion than he was viewed on draft day. Expect him to be signed by LA before the puck drops. Mike will have to see whether letting Vokoun go to the Severed Heads so he could poach Lehtinen was the right call - my vote is that this was the wrong call.

PICARD D OTT - My guess at this point is that Picard will be waived so I can bring up Green for the start of the season but if he shows some of his potential in the preseason, he may displace Harrold, Yandle or Stralman. Currently day-to-day, I don't think he'll get the chance to wow me.

Round 20:

SEVERED HEADS Rutuu LW CAR
P. VENDETTA Toskala G TOR (match hl)
WOLVES Huskins D ANA
BLADERUNNERS Fisher C OTT (poach lb)
RAMAPITHICINES Nilsson LW EDM - promoted
SHADOWMEN Fernandez G BOS
EDGE Brewer D STL (match kt)
LOST BOYS Leopold D COL
SCOURGE Vanek LW BUF - promoted
HIGHLANDERS Ellis G NSH
KNIGHTS TEMPLAR Klesla D CLB
GREAT WHITES Pavelski C SJ

Looking over the desperate d-man dreck that are being selected here I'm even more pleased with my gambles in the previous rounds. Sure my picks may turn out to be flops, but its not like they are the perenial flops that Klesla and Brewer have been. Toskala, obviouly is a prize I valued - good match by Darrell.

ELLIS G NSH - Here's hoping he can be what Mason proved he couldn't be last year - a solid back-up to Kipper and maybe even trade-bait before the Waiver Draft.

Round 21:

SEVERED HEADS Forsberg C UFA
P. VENDETTA Svatos RW COL - promoted
WOLVES J.Williams C ATL
BLADERUNNERS Fillpula C DET - promoted
RAMAPITHICINES Brown RW LA - promoted
SHADOWMEN Krejci C BOS
EDGE Gleason D CAR
LOST BOYS Staios D EDM
SCOURGE Barker D CHI - promoted
HIGHLANDERS Laich RW WAS
KNIGHTS TEMPLAR Kraijcek D VAN
GREAT WHITES Ericsson D DET

Forsberg. Nelson says, "Ha ha." Williams may prove inspired if he gets the spot everyone is hoping to get in Atlanta alongside Kovalchuk.

LAICH RW WAS - Same thinking as Williams, if he suits up with Ovechkin - and he went on a tear to end last season - then he sheds the checker-tag that was slapped on him before last season and I win a big sleeper gamble. If not, he's Bantha fodder come the waiver draft - no real middle ground here.

Round 22: (bringing it all home)

SEVERED HEADS Malkin C PIT - promoted
P. VENDETTA M.Michalek LW SJ - promoted
WOLVES Phaneuf D CGY - promoted
BLADERUNNERS Miller G BUF - promoted
RAMAPITHICINES Perry RW ANA - promoted
SHADOWMEN J.Carter C PHI - promoted
EDGE Cullen C CAR
LOST BOYS M.Koivu C MIN - promoted
SCOURGE Tyutin D CLB
HIGHLANDERS Penner LW EDM
KNIGHTS TEMPLAR Weber D NSH - promoted
GREAT WHITES Valiquete G NYR

Malkin could turn into something :-) Seriously, this is a great crop of graduating prospects. I drafted Crosby last season with the second last pick but Malkin ranks as the best final pick in any FunHL draft.

PENNER LW EDM - I went out and got Penner during the draft for a later round prospect pick in next year's draft. He's security but ironically without him I wouldn't have the debate I'm having about who to dump - Penner or Clowe - when I promote Mueller. Hopefully one of them can create some trade buzz before I have to pull the trigger.

End of the Entry Draft

I won't do a full recap of the Prospect Draft but I go in with the following:

Mueller-L PHX (P3)
Okposo-R NYI (P3)
Green-D WSH (P3)
Little-C ATL (P2)
Setoguchi-R SJ (P2)
Franson-D NSH (P2)
Bernier-G LA (P2)

I only need one pick and had, earlier in the summer, felt that I couldn't hope to snag Filatov, my #1, with Chris' pick (fourth overall) so I made a trade to get Okposo. I'm happy with Okposo, and with my flat RW he may actually make the squad if he exceeds expectations, but you can imagine my dismay when the prospect draft gets going:

Prospect Draft, Round 1:

J.Williams RW CAR [Ram]
D.Doughty LA D [GW]
Brunstrum LW DAL [Scourge]
Filatov C CLB [Blade]
Boedker RW PHO [LB]
P.Berglund STL C [Blade]
Bogosian D ATL [PV]
Matthias C FLA [Ram]
V.Hedman D SWE [HL]
J.Pesonen LW PIT [Shad]
Svenson-Paajarvi LW SWE [Blade]
Hornqvist RW NSH [Scourge]

Williams is a very interesting pick if you think he can overcome his horrible injury luck, but I simply still can't believe that Filatov slipped that far. Am pleased with Hedman and know all the downsides in terms of his 4 year prospect term: only 17, defenseman, European. Even so, he's a once in a generation player and if he makes an NHL team before he's 20 (unlikely but possible) than he might just justify the pick.

Now to hit those trade lines...

My Lists Are Lying To Me... Again

2008-09-16T15:45:00.004-06:00

Only days to go until the Entry Draft and my lists are not as finished as I'd like. Still, can't wait.

What Went Wrong?

2008-08-12T14:54:00.005-06:00

This is not how it was supposed to look. Time heals a lot of wounds, but not all. Falling short in the run to repeat as Predator Cup Champs last season was a big blow as so many elements had alligned to make it seem possible. In Thornton and Pronger the team had two elite FPs. Crosby would be, potentially, a third FP. While not picking first overall, we were able to select second and got the goaltender we wanted. Alas, it was not to be. Fourth place and 33.07pts behind.

What went wrong #1. Kiprussof turned out NOT to be the goaltender we wanted. Heading into draft day we were debating between Kipper and Lundqvist. Kiprusoff got 96pts which sounds like a great number but ultimately he was only the 9th highest pointing goaltender - not because of injury, but because his game dropped off. Lundqvist had 127pts or the difference of 31pts - essentially the gap between 1st and 4th.

What went wrong #2. Crosby went down with injury. Crosby's high ankle strain cost him games - 29 in total. Even in games he came back to play in, he wasn't at 100% and it showed. His PPG rate projected out to 111pts, good for 2nd in the Art Ross race with Ovechkin and 39pts more than the 72 he got - more than the gap between 1st and 4th.

What went wrong #3. Malkin. With Crosby hurt, Malkin exploded. Before the injury Malkin was at about a 90pt pace, in the 35 games after he was at a 124pt pace.

What went wrong #4. Trading. I didn't win any big trades. The year before I managed to win a few trades - most memorably the Kovalev for Gonchar trade and the series of FP trades that transformed Jovanovski into Pronger. This year, in part because I was the defending champion, those deals never materialized. Conversly the Severed Heads were able to deal for Nabokov.

What went wrong #5. Pairity. I am comparing the Highlanders to the eventual champion Severed Heads a lot in this post and rightly so - they won. With with four teams within essentially 30pts, this was an incredibly tight race and made all the more so because of the fact no body was pulling away. With so many teams in the running trades are harder to make and the number of teams willing to "sell" is far less - at least far less willing to do so as early as they might have been in years past.

Bad picks and bad injury luck will happen. You can try and avoid it but it happens. The trading issue is one I have to get back on my horse and re-up my game. I will never be able to trade with the frequency of a Bob (I couldn't keep up with the paperwork) but I can't expect to win the big deals per se. Its not that they aren't doable but there was a lack of boldness in my approach last season as compared to the season before - that I can work on. Also, I need to expect that parity will get greater, not lesser, as the next season approaches - the fact is GMs in this pool are really, really good. When I hear about trades in so many other pools I often scratch my head and ask how they can get away with such highway robbery. The fact is, the FunHL is a pool of some real pros - I need to accept that fact and revel in it. Beating the best is much more satisfying than beating up on a bunch of chumps.

Highlanders Look To Add New FP

2008-08-12T14:42:00.003-06:00

Sidney Crosby's tenure as a Highlanders prospect is coming to an end. Technically, it ended last Entry Draft as Sid the Kid was selected in the last round by the Highlanders instead of continuing to occupy a Prospect slot during Crosby's p4 year. This year, it ends for good with the promotion of the 21 year-old phenomn to one of two Highlander Franchise Player slots. Only Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux have scored more pts than Crosby as a 21 year-old so the Highlanders have high hopes for the new face of the franchise.

The FunHL 2008 Entry Draft goes September 20th in Calgary.

Back Where We Belong!

2007-10-24T13:51:00.001-06:00

It is early, two days into Week 4, but its nice to see the Blue and White back atop the FunHL standings. Best get this posted before the injury gods strike again and thrust me back into the muck.

Injury Woes

2007-10-21T11:26:00.000-06:00

Well the Highlanders are starting to pick it up. Week 3 looks to be a 40+pt week that has me knocking on the door of the Ramapithicines and Severed Heads for the lead - a big improvement from the last couple of weeks lurking in the shallow end of the pool - but now is the time that try men's hearts, injury time.

Sheldon Souray and (according to last night's summary) Bryan Berard are out. Souray's separated shoulder will keep him out at least 3 weeks but probably he's gone until the wiaver draft (in December). Hopefully Berard's groin pull is minor but its always a concern when a player with a long period of inactivity, say all of last year, comes back to play significant minutes.

We'll give Mara and Schubert a chance to prove that they belong and hope that this upcoming week is even better than the last.

Defending the Crown

2007-10-05T14:22:00.000-06:00

Well the FunHL Entry Draft was held this past Saturday in Calgary and thanks again to Dan and Celina for hosting. Much appriciated. Celina's mom did the catering and the food was fantastic.

The first question of the draft was whether the Knights Templar would take a new franchise player or not. They did, taking Jason Spezza at center, which left the Highlanders free to take goaltender Mikka Kiprusoff. The Highlander's draft went as follows:

1st round (2nd overall) M.Kippruoff G, best goalie available and, hopefully, providing the comfort level between the pipes such that goaltending is not a concern.
2nd (23rd) P.Kariya LW, last of the elite lefties (only one pick away from getting Gagne but alas, no luck).
3rd (26th) L.Visnovsky D, had him ranked right behind Kaberle so glad to get him - made it through the first wrap-around before having to match Souray so assured of three good D).
4th (47th) S.Souray D, matched a bid from earlier in the the round - about where I figured to match but always hope that you can go two more rounds.
5th (50th) J.Williams RW, while the best left on right I'm a little afraid of this pick.
6th (71st) T.Connolly C, the end of season debate will be Connolly or Drury. I feel Connolly has the higher upside but we will see.
7th (74th) E.Jovanovski D, for a number 4 d-man I'm thrilled.
8th (95th) P.Mara D, a real question mark on D but with good potential.
End of Free Agent Rounds
9th and 10th (98th and 119th) J.Thornton C and C.Pronger D, IMHO the top ranked C and D FPs in the pool.
End of Franchise Player Rounds
11th (122nd) L.Nagy LW, another question mark but one with a lot of untapped upside.
12th (143rd) B.Guerin RW, Bid on Beauchemin on D but end up getting the veteran winger. The available comprables will be G.Murray or M.Ryder when the post-mortem is to be done.
13th (146th) B.Boyes RW, initially drafted what I thought was d-man M.Streit but when it was clear he was listed as a forward went with Boyes but it does take me off of my forward-defensman pattern.
14th (167th) S.Hartnel LW, poached him and am pleased with the potential for the price. Philly spent alot to get him and expect that they will use him.
15th (170th) B.Berard D, potentially my S.Souray steal of the draft or an injury-riddled risk. B.Burns in Min goes at the end of the round and may prove to have been the better call.
16th (191st) D.Stafford RW, moving into the benched players now and Stafford looks like a good option on right though T.Holmstrom may prove to be the better call here.
17th (194th) K.Pilar D, ok this was a gamble that has already blown up - hopefully a replacement can be found without too much cost.
18th (215th) J.Pavelski C, upside is there but really who knows. Hopefully Connolly doesn't get hurt and it never matters - ok, this could be a problem.
19th (218th) R.Vrbata LW, with no obvious d-option I fill out my left wing with a Coyote with upside. Someone has to score in Phoenix, right?
20th (239th) C.Schubert D, saw him good in the preseason and +30 as his +/- last year makes him a potentially playable #8 d-man so I'm not displeased.
21st (242nd) M.Legace G, knowing he would last didn't make my smirk any less. I am convinced that Murray will have St.Louis surprising teams all season long. I don't plan on playing Legace with Kiprusoff as the number one but its a nice security blanket an d at least as credible as Fernandez IMO.
22nd (267th) S.Crosby C, really surprised that he was still available :-) Of course he was promoted from my active list and will probably be the highest pointing second last pick even in the draft.
End of the Restricted Free Agent Rounds
2nd Round of Prospect Draft (16th overall) C.Franson D NSH, the choice on D was between Franson and Kindl and Franson is 6'5" so the choice was pretty easy.
2nd (19th) D.Setaguchi SJ, another saw him good selection but the guy knows how to score and is on the RW so has a better chance to click.
2nd (24th) B.Little ATL, as satisfying as it was to take Little hearing Cam swearing under his breath was the cherry on top.
3rd (25th) J.Hiller G ANA, with Price and Bernier gone Hiller has the best shot at being a regular contributor IMO. Other options included Hulenius in TB, Mason in CLB and Irving in CGY. I'm comfortable with this call.

The strengths are certainly down the middle (with Crosby and Thornton) and on the backend with Kipper between the pipes and as solid a quartet of top-end d-men as anyone else in the league (Pronger, Visnovsky, Souray and Jovanovski). The wing strength drops off very quickly so having some of the drafted potential step up will be key. It will be a good year but like last season a lot of things will have to fall into place to make a repeat a possiblity.

We're Number 2

2007-07-10T10:53:00.000-06:00

The Highlanders are the defending Predator Cup, Challenge Cup and Omnivore Award Champions so their fans can be excused for feeling that the Highlanders are Number One, but at the recently held FunHL Entry Draft Slot Selection Lottery, the Highlanders were only able to secure the number two selection. In all seriousness, this is great news for the Kilted Army who will be assured of a top selection as the team makes its run to once again go Back-to-Back.

Notable potential selections include centers V.Lecavalier and J.Spezza; goaltender M.Kipprusoff; left winger H.Zetterberg; as well as members from last year's championship roster such as RW D.Alfredsson and D S.Gonchar.

The waiting ends September 29th with the 2007 FunHL Entry Draft.

14 Year Drought Ends - Highlanders Win!!!

2007-04-09T01:51:00.000-06:00

50+ pt lead and growing

2007-04-04T17:04:00.000-06:00

Pivotal Night Tonight

2007-03-28T16:40:00.000-06:00

Two Weeks To Go

2007-03-26T13:12:00.000-06:00

Getting Better - 17 Days To Go

2007-03-22T16:30:00.000-06:00

Bladerunners getting closer...

2007-03-16T09:27:00.000-06:00

The Race

2007-03-15T16:25:00.000-06:00

Nothing here that you can't find on the FunHL site, but in the event anyone is checking here, I am still holding on to a lead (following a very scary Monday night, and an equally pleasant Tuesday night). The rollercoaster action is getting more than a little stressful but I just don't see this settling into a nice, quiet romp to the finish. Brian and I are going to go toe to toe for the next three and a half weeks.

Scourge Now Within Spitting Distance of Edge

2007-02-08T08:28:00.000-07:00

While the race for the Predator Cup continues (the Highlanders gained a couple of points on the Bladerunners last night), the battle to avoid the Herbivore is also heating up. At the start of the week the Scourge had managed to close the gap between themselves and the 11th placed Edge to 9pts. Following last night's action that gap has closed to 4pts. The Scourge have been rejuvinated by the dynamic duo of Paval Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg to be sure but are also more confident in their goaltending, having picked up Edge waiver draft cast-off Ray Emery and Keith Tkachuk.

The Edge still have the horses to hold the Scourge off but it will be interesting to see if the battle to avoid last produces some of the same players now for futures trades that have started to occur at the top of the table. Lots of fun.

A quick update on the Challenge Cup games. Following Wednesday's games, of the three teams in a playoff position only the Severed Heads are losing their game (by 10pts to the Knights Templar, who are having a great week). Of the four teams trying to catch up, none are winning their games. For there to be any change in the playoff teams, one or more teams that are "in" will have to lose all of their remaining games and one or more teams that are "out" will have to win all of their remaining games.

***Milestone Update***

In my self-absorbed obsession with a certain trade that occured following the waiver draft, I failed to note a significant event that occured on Tuesday night. Great Whites Franchise Player Martin Brodeur became the first FunHL player to garner 100pts this season. Brodeur, the 6th overall player selected during the FP draft, has been a mainstay of the Great Whites ever since. He has repeatedly outscored other, flashier, FPs but the consistancy and high level of performance makes him, hands down, the greatest FP in FunHL history. Brodeur is part of a tradition of excellent goaltending for the Great Whites that goes back to the league's first season when the franchise selected Patrick Roy with their first selection. Given his current high level of production and given that he shows no sign of slowing down, I predict that the Great Whites will continue to enjoy several more seasons of elite netminding in the years to come. Congrats Dan - nice pick!

Here are the unofficial stats as of last night:

Calgary Wins All-Star Game, Bladerunners Hold Lead Going Into Waiver Draft

2007-01-29T13:28:00.000-07:00

Predator Cup Race Remains Tight, Calgary Conference Holds Narrow Lead in All-Star Game, Shadowmen Retake Lead in Omnivore

2007-01-28T08:51:00.000-07:00

'Nuff Said.

Bladerunners retake lead, Calgary leads All-Star Game

2007-01-27T08:58:00.000-07:00

The Headlines say it all. These Stats include the corrected stats as of Week

16.

FunHL Standings at the All-Star Break

2007-01-23T14:21:00.000-07:00

Here are the FunHL Standings following Week 16 Action:

The Highlanders continue to lead the pack but the Bladerunners are closing fast having finished week 16 with a 24+pt Saturday night giving them the best week of any team. The Shadowmen join the 600pt club but are now 64pts back of the leader. The Severed Heads have a very strong week and look to join the top four. Down the table, the Personal Vendetta halt their slide towards their first Herbivore Trophy with a solid week and a move up the standings. While the Scourge remain in last they have a strong week as well and now are threatening to overtake the Edge who had the league's worst week.

In the Challenge Cup, the Bladerunners secure their ticket to the post-season with a convincing win over the Wolves. The Shadowmen drop to third, holding the tie-breaker against the Highlanders. The only team mathematically eliminated from the post-season at this point is the Scourge but several teams need to win and get some help if they are to keep playing past week 21.

The Omnivore continues to be a two-horse race between the Bladerunners and the Shadowmen. Two others are now in the "black" with three others hoping that the upcoming Waiver Draft can fuel enough positive momentum to push them forward over the last third of the season. The Edge, however, have a lot of ground to make up.

Next week only includes three days of games: Friday thru Sunday. The Challenge Cup season pauses but the Predator Cup and Omnivore stats will continue to be recorded.

The FunHL All-Star rosters appear to be set and the game will be updated here daily starting Saturday morning. Enjoy.

Welcome

2006-11-17T13:30:00.000-07:00

Hello Canada and Hockey Fans in Cyber-Space.

This is the new blog for the Highlanders Fantasy Hockey Team, two time Predator Cup Champions of the world's greatest Fantasy Hockey League, the FunHL.

Since I'm posting this in a haphazard way, this site may not be as updated as it could be but we'll see where it goes.